Monza – Formula One fans named Nyck de Vries “Driver of the Day” after his dream scoring debut with Williams on Sunday, and even a post-race warning for poor racing could not dampen their enthusiasm.
The 27-year-old Dutchman began eighth in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza but ended ninth as a result of penalties handed out to others.
He could not have done much more to improve his chances of obtaining a full-time drive for the upcoming season.
His potential replacement, Canadian teammate Nicholas Latifi, finished 15th after starting 10th and remains the lone driver on the starting line without a point in 16 races.
De Vries complained over the team’s radio that his shoulders were ‘dead’ after scoring points in his maiden match.
Team leader Jost Capito congratulated Nyck on a job well done, stating that he deserved it.
The Mercedes reserve was summoned on Saturday morning, just as he was ready for a weekend of hospitality duties with guests, following the appendicitis diagnosis of Williams regular Alex Albon.
Albon’s ninth-place finish was their best of the season.
De Vries capitalized on the opportunity and outperformed Latifi despite the short notice and the fact that he had driven a completely different car, the Aston Martin, in first practice on Friday.
In addition, he had never driven the Mercedes-powered Williams with a full tank of fuel.
“Driver of the day makes me so happy, and I’m very glad and appreciative that I was given the opportunity, which I seized with both hands,” he said.
This is definitely a dream come true, and I’m quite proud of what we’ve accomplished in such a short amount of time, so I’m going to go enjoy it.
The champion of Formula Two in 2019 and Formula E in 2021 reported a difficult night.
“The last twenty-four hours have been nothing but a dream,” he said. “Essentially, I spent the entire night awake, although it may have been beneficial.
“I was unable to think, so I just had to get the job done.”